


And Then There Were Two

by PalestAzure



Series: Ethan Ramsey, Dad Extraordinaire [6]
Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, Parent-Child Relationship, parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PalestAzure/pseuds/PalestAzure
Summary: Ethan returns home from a work trip to some excitement from the two women in his life.
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Series: Ethan Ramsey, Dad Extraordinaire [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815364
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	And Then There Were Two

It wasn’t the sound of the front door opening or closing that grabbed Zyra’s attention. It was the excited yell of Jocelyn, her 8-year-old daughter, that did.

“Daddy!”

Joss ran out of the kitchen in a blur, disappearing around the corner of the entrance that led into the living room. Zyra grabbed a dish towel and followed her daughter, while wiping her wet hands from rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher. When she turned the corner, she saw Joss in the arms of the very person she had called out for. 

Ethan was kneeling down on one knee, hugging his daughter. He had been away for three weeks assisting colleagues with immunology research in Canada. He lifted his head, and his eyes met Zyra’s. Between them, there was an unspoken greeting behind their shared gaze. His piercing, crystal blues spoke to her warm, chocolate browns. 

“I missed you so much!” Joss exclaimed. She nuzzled the tip of her nose against her daddy’s and then kissed his cheek many times, one for each day he was gone. Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“The feeling’s mutual, sweetheart.” Ethan reached beside him into the front pocket of his rolling suitcase and pulled out a small, blue ball.

Joss began jumping up and down. “Is that for me?”

“Did you think I would come home empty-handed?” 

He held out the gift to her. Joss stopped jumping and her shoulders sagged when she saw the item more closely. She reluctantly took it in her hands, slowly turning it between her fingers. Her lip curled up in disappointment. 

“It’s a stress ball,” Ethan explained, looking undeterred by Joss’s reaction. 

There was writing on the ball that read _Toronto General_. 

“Um… thanks,” Joss said almost curtly. 

Ethan held up a finger. “Wait.” He reached for his bag again. “There was something else.” He peered inside the pocket, and then turned to Joss with an exaggerated look of surprise on his face. “I-I don’t see it. Want to help me look?” 

Joss took a few small steps towards the bag and looked inside. Then there was a loud, deafening scream that made both Ethan and Zyra flinch. Joss pulled out a stuffed moose wearing a red and black plaid hoodie. _CANADA_ was written on the front in big white letters. 

“Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod! It’s so cute!” She cuddled the moose against her chest as she twisted her body from side to side. She then ran to her mother, who had been watching the entire show. “Look, mommy! Look what daddy brought me!”

“Isn’t that adorable, baby?” Zyra took the stuffed animal into her hands and looked upon it fondly. She adjusted the hoodie over the moose’s head before returning it back to her overly-excited daughter. “Why don’t you go introduce it to your other friends.” 

Their daughter’s other friends were a collection of souvenirs that Zyra and Ethan routinely got her on their trips. The first one was a stuffed bear with a t-shirt that read _I ❤️ Colorado_. They picked it up when they took Joss for her first visit to see Zyra’s family. After that, Ethan would bring back one from his work trips and Zyra would do the same. So far, the group of friends were from seven different states and two countries. 

“Okay!” Joss ran back to her dad and hugged his leg. “Thank you, daddy! I love him!” Their little one then darted off upstairs to her room. 

Zyra and Ethan were now alone. 

“Did you say that to get us some quick alone time?” Ethan asked, approaching Zyra and then drawing her to him by the waist. She flung her arms around his neck, and basked in his body heat.

“Joss wasn’t the only one who missed you.” 

“Well, I didn’t want to presume anything.” His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. He continued, his breath fanning her skin, “You mentioned you needed to talk about something.”

Zyra didn’t respond. She dropped her head against Ethan’s chest before they even had the chance to reunite with a full kiss. She locked her arms tighter across his lower back. Her face was completely hidden behind her thick curls. Ethan placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back so that he could see her face. “Zyra, is everything okay?”

Zyra rubbed a hand across her forehead. “Let’s sit down.” She led Ethan to the couch and pulled out her phone from her back pocket before she sat down next to him. She quietly swiped across her screen, looking for something to open. “I had a physical a couple of weeks ago. One week after you left to be exact.” She handed him her phone. “Look at the blood test results.”

She observed Ethan’s face as he scrolled through the results. She bit her lower lip as she waited until she saw the reaction she was expecting. 

His face turned a deathly pale. “Your… your hCG levels…” He slowly looked up from the phone and was met with Zyra’s timid smile. 

“I hope you’re okay with another one,” Zyra confessed.

Ethan sat there frozen, staring at her. The only movement was the quick rise and fall of his chest. She placed a hand on his forearm and patted it a few times. 

“Ethan?”

He blinked a few times, and Zyra could see the focus returning in his eyes. All of the tension in his body slowly vanished.

“You had me so worried. I thought perhaps you’d been diagnosed with…” 

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She tenderly caressed his cheek. “I wanted to tell you the good news in person. Unless it’s not good news.”

A smile crept across his lips. “You always seem to make me want things I’ve never believed I could ever have or want.” 

They embraced each other and laughed. Zyra felt a single tear streak her cheek from happiness.

About eight months later, Aidan Quincy Ramsey was born.


End file.
